Mount Airy-sous-bois

We brewed Mount Airy-sous-bois, our first collaboration brew, on April 13th with Tom Baker and Peggy Zwerver, long-time friends and owners of Deck & Donohue’s favorite Philadelphia brewpub – Earth Bread & Brewery. EB&B is known for pushing the envelope on both traditional and non-traditional styles, with a special penchant for gruits, alts, milds and saisons.

For this collaboration, we wanted to create an homage to the modern French biere de garde, arguably one of the only “alive-and well” French beer styles. To achieve this, we selected an uncomplicated malt bill, Alsatian Bouclier hops, and an ale yeast we figured we could ferment at unconventionally low temperatures. In addition to this, we boiled the wort for double the typical time to achieve an additional roundness of body and added a dose of black pepper to the whirlpool.

The result shows a clean but rich “lageresque” nose, with light sulfur, spice and bread. The cool fermentation temperature creates a highly restrained and subtle yeast character. A bready malt character and smooth body, with a touch of honey sweetness on the finish, complete this nod to modern French bieres de garde, which we are proud to present exclusively on draft at some of our favorite local spots, including La Fine Mousse, Le Supercoin, and Les Trois 8.